Senator and Water Spokeswoman Lee Rhiannon says the hugely successful program should be funded.

"Many members of Mr Hunt's own party don't agree with this.

"Former Prime Minister[s] John Howard [and Kevin] Rudd, farmers, environmentalists, previous Governments [and] the resource industry have all seen the benefits of this program.

She says the program isn't costing 'a lot of money' and should continue to be funded.

Western Queensland grazier John Seccombe is the founder of the cap-and-pipe program and former chairman of the Great Artesian Basin Consultative Council.

Mr Seccombe says the Federal Agriculture Department and the Infrastructure and Development Department also help pay for GABSI.

He says he would like to see one or all three of those departments band together to find the funding quickly 'to retain the staff and the knowledge.'

He says the ministers involved have lost sight of the importance of the initiative and he's asking them to see it in action with their own eyes.

"This [scheme] is absolutely imperative to ensuring the pressure regime in the basin is retained.

"The pressure is the all important thing to ensure contamination doesn't occur in the basin.

"I personally would extend a very warm and open invitation to Minister Hunt and the State Ministers if they would like to tour sections of the basin with me and I would then explain to them the issues that are confronting the resource and the importance of continuing this scheme to maintain the integrity of the Great Artesian Basin."

Queensland's Minister for Natural Resources, Andrew Cripps, says he doesn't have to be shown how important GABSI is.

"I would like to see the Commonwealth Government continue and restore its funding to the GABSI program.

"It has got enormous benefits for the sustainability and the use of the resource in the Great Artesian Basin for agriculture and for the environment."

He says despite the importance of the program, the future depends on a joint Government effort.

"The Queensland Government cannot continue GABSI on its own, without Commonwealth support for the continuation of that program."